FIFA World Cup 2018: Japan lose 0-1 to Poland but reach last 16

Japan qualify with a better disciplinary record than Senegal (four yellow cards compared to Senegal’s six) after Colombia beat Senegal 1-0 at the Samara Arena.

Pic courtesy: IANS

Moscow: Poland go home with a consolation 1-0 win over Japan after Bednarek scored his first World Cup goal in the 59th minute. It was Poland’s first ever win against the Asians. Japan, on the other hand, qualify with a better disciplinary record (four yellow cards compared to Senegal’s six) after Colombia beat Senegal 1-0 at Samara. Japan take the second spot in Group H and will face the winners of Group G (Belgium or England) in the round of 16. 

Follow the match updates here:

Poland 1-0 Japan!

Full-time!!

Japan have not a had a single shot in the second-half, they are biding their time here. 

3 minutes of Stoppage time!

88 minute:  Japan are defending deep they seem to be happy with the scoreline so far and are hardly creating a chance in the final third. 

5 minutes to go!

83 minute: Substitution for Japan. Muto is replaced by Hasebe. Japan, as it stands, will qualify with a better disciplinary record but if Senegal equalises against Colombia, the Asians will be knocked out. 

82 minute: That was close. Poland's Grosicki whips the ball into the middle from the right but Makino clears the ball to the corner. 

80 minute: Substitution for Poland. Peszko replaces Kurzawa and Teodorczyk is in for Zielinski. 

74 minute: MISS!  Poland's Lewandowski gets under a pass from Grosicki but clouds the ball away. No player from Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions, has found the net at the World Cup, so far. 

72 minute:  Corner for Japan. Shibasaki whips the ball in and finds Yoshida in the box but Yoshida fails to direct the ball on target. Goal-kick. 

Interestingly, Poland's last five goals have come through set-pieces. 

66 minute: Yellow card! Japan's Makino gets booked for a challenge on Lewandowski. Free-kick to Poland. 

65 minute:  Substitution for Japan. T. Inui replaces Usami.

This was Poland's first ever goal against Japan. 

Poland 1-0 Japan!

59 minute: GOAL!!! Poland's Jan Bednarek nets a goal off a cross from R. Kurzawa. 

54 minute:  That was close! Poland's Grosicki makes a run on the left-flank but the goalkeeper plunges onto the dangerous cross.  

47 minute: Substitution for Japan. Y. Osako is in for Okazaki. 

Second-half is underway. 

#JPNPOL // STATS#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/QSdQKHhcvk

— FIFA World Cup  (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2018

In the other group H match, Senegal and Colombia are goalless at half-time.

Japan 0-0 Poland!

Half-time!

1 minute of stoppage time!

39 minute: Corner for Japan. Shibasaki whips the ball past his teammates in the box. Japan have looked more organised but they need to make the most of their chances up front. 

37 minute: Corner for Poland. Kurzawa attempts a volley but skies the ball away from the goal. 

34 minute: Japan's Usami sprints into the far corner but his cross gets blocked by the goalkeeper. 

32 minute: SAVED! Poland's Grosicki finds a pass in the box but his header is brilliantly saved by goalkeeper Kawashima. 

28 minute: Japan's  H. Sakai fires a cross in the Poland box but it is headed away by a defender. Corner for Japan. 

26 minute: Poland look toneless in the final third as they continue to give away possession to Japan. 

23 minute:  Poland's Kurzawa attempts a shot from long range but hits the ball directly to Japan's Yoshida. Yoshida heads the ball to safety. 

21 minute: Corner for Poland. Glik heads the ball towards the goal but the Referee penalises him for a challenge on a Japanese player. 

18 minute: Both Japan and Poland try to settle themselves in the midfield after a dull start. 

16 minute: Japan's Sakai picks up a long pass near the box and attempts a shot from distance but hits the ball directly into the hands of the goalkeeper. 

14 minute: Free-kick to Poland after a challenge from Japan's Shibasaki. 

11 minute: Promising attack by Japan's Nagotomo but his cross is headed wide by Okazaki. That was close. 

6 minute: Poland enjoy a healthy possession early in the first half but they are giving it away near Japan's penalty box. 

1 minute: Grosicki finds space in the final third but Japan' s Yoshida clears the ball away. Corner for Poland. 

Kick-off

A huge day in Group H...

TEAM NEWS (1/2) // #JPNPOL #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/3ti1MOX1O4

— FIFA World Cup  (@FIFAWorldCup) June 28, 2018

Lineups

Japan XI: Kawashima, Nagotomo, H. Sakai, Makino, G. Sakai, Yoshida, Shibasaki, Usami, Yamaguchi, Okazaki, Muto.

Poland XI: Fabianski, Jedrzejczyk, Bednarek, Glik, Bereszynski, Goralski, Krychowiak, Grosicki, Zielinski, Kurzawa, Lewandowski.

Japan, with an impressive 2-1 win over Colombia and a 2-2 draw over against Senegal, are favourites against already knocked-out Poland. 

Both Japan and Poland have met only twice and the former won 5-0 in 1996 and 2-0 in 2002. But Interestingly, Japan have not scored against a European nation in the tournament since 2010, where they beat Denmark 3-1. 

Poland:

Goalkeepers- Bartosz Balkowski, Lukasz Fabianski, Wojciech Szczesny. 

Defenders- Jan Bednarek, Bartosz Berezynski, Thiago Cionek, Artur Jedrejczyk, Kamil Glik, Michal Pazdan, Lukasz Piszczek. 

Midfielders- Jakub Blaszczykowski, Jacek Goralski, Kamil Grosicki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Rafal Kurzawa, Karol Linetty, Slawomir Peszko, Maciej Rybus, Piotr Zielinski. 

Forwards- Dawid Kownacki, Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Lukasz Teodorczyk

Japan:

Goalkeepers- Elji Kawashima, Masaaki Higashiguchi, Kosuke Nakamura. 

Defenders- Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Wataru Endo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Gotoku Sakai, Gen Shoji, Naomichi Ueda. 

Midfielders- Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Inui, Shinji Kagawa, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Genki Haraguchi, Takashi Usami, Gaku Shibasaki, Ryota Oshima. 

Forwards- Shinji Okazaki, Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto.